Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith, Budd Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Support Volunteer Drivers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Tedd Budd (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Volunteer Driver Tax Appreciation Act to support volunteer drivers. Each year, volunteer drivers provide millions of rides for seniors and other non-drivers through churches, community organizations, and nonprofits, giving them access to health care, meals, and other essential services. This legislation would lower the financial burden that those volunteer drivers face by increasing the charitable mileage tax deduction rate for drivers from $0.14 to $0.655 per mile. “Volunteer drivers are vital to rural communities across our state, helping seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and others access necessities like meals and health care,” said Klobuchar. “By increasing the charitable mileage tax deduction rate, this legislation will help reduce the financial burden on volunteer drivers and ensure they can continue to serve their communities.” “Minnesota’s volunteer drivers are critical to communities across our state, helping provide access to food, medication, and transport to seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities,” said Smith. “This legislation would increase the charitable mileage tax reimbursement rate and lower the financial burden for these volunteers. By more fairly compensating them for their services, we can ensure volunteers are able to continue helping the people who rely on them.” “Volunteer drivers provide critical services to predominantly rural areas of our country. Seniors, veterans, and disabled citizens are able to access food and healthcare through the charitable work of others. Increasing the charitable mileage reimbursement rate will make it easier for volunteer drivers
Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Ensure Accurate, Thorough Education About Native Peoples
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced significant legislation to improve public education and understanding about Native American peoples and their histories. Accurate, thorough education about Native peoples benefits all students, Native and non-Native alike. Unfortunately, the education most students receive regarding Native histories and cultures is woefully inadequate. For example, nearly half of Americans say that what they were taught in schools about Native Americans was inaccurate and in most K-12 classrooms, students are not taught about Native peoples at all post-1900. Furthermore, teachers rate “history of Native American peoples” and “pre-Columbian American history and culture” as two of the worst subjects in terms of coverage and accuracy. These glaring educational deficiencies allow negative stereotypes and misconceptions to take hold and persist. “It is unacceptable that so many Americans are under- and misinformed about Native peoples and their history,” said Senator Smith. “Teachers and Native groups around the country have been sounding the alarm and pushing for action on this issue for years, and it’s time we listened. This legislation would help develop accurate and thorough curriculum for our schools so that harmful misconceptions and stereotypes do not persist.” Deficiencies in our education system are a top driver of false narratives about Native peoples. Senator Smith’s legislation, the Native Histories and Cultures Education Act, would help states improve primary and secondary education about Native histories and cultures in North America by: This legislation is inspired by the Understand Native Minnesota initiative, led by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux
Sen. Tina Smith Working on Legislation to Protect Children during Immigration Enforcement
U.S. Senator Tina Smith is preparing to introduce legislation to protect children whose families are caught up in immigration enforcement actions. According to an alarming New York Times report, more than 700 immigrant children have been separated from their parents at the border since October. Sen. Smith’s bill—which is expected to take steps similar to the HELP Separated Children Act—will help children and families address the challenges they face when they are separated during interior immigration enforcement actions, as well as during deportation proceedings. She is planning to introduce the legislation in the coming weeks.
Sen. Tina Smith Helps Introduce Bill to Make Sure Veteran, Minority, and Immigrant Farmers Have Access to USDA Services
U.S. Senator Tina Smith said that her measure to expand mental health services for students and communities in Minnesota and across the country has been included in a larger bipartisan bill to address the nation’s opioid crisis. Sen. Smith said her Improving Access to Mental Health Services Act was added to a package of legislation designed to sharpen the federal government’s response to a crisis that continues to devastate families and communities across the nation. Tomorrow, the larger bill is expected to be debated in the Health and Education Committee, of which Sen. Smith is a member. “Lawmakers often talk about the urgent need to
Sen. Tina Smith Pushes to Kickstart Free-to-Access College Textbook Programs with Millions in Dedicated Federal Funding
U.S. Senator Tina Smith is urging the Department of Education to start disbursing millions in funding she helped secure for open college textbooks—which allow professors, students, and researchers to freely access otherwise costly materials. As the end of the spring semester approaches and students sell back their textbooks for pennies on the dollar, Sen. Smith wants to make sure that colleges across the country can start applying for new grants to create their own open textbook programs. In recent years, schools like University of Minnesota that are already using open textbooks have saved students money and ultimately brought down the
Rep. Tom Emmer Wins Sen. Tina Smith’s Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Competition
Today, Senator Tina Smith hosted the eighth annual Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Competition. Sen. Smith took up the helm of Al Franken’s annual hotdish off to determine which Minnesota Congressional Delegation member makes the best hotdish. You can download video from the event here, here, and here, and an interview with Sen. Smith that you should feel free to use here. Participants recipes can be found here. You can find photos of the competition here. Rep. Tom Emmer’s “Hotdish of Champions” was named the winner of the 2018 Hotdish Off after a blind taste test—and a tie broken by Master of Ceremonies (and MinnPost’s Washington Correspondent) Sam Brodey—of all ten dishes. The judges
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